Brick Wall

How many different types of brick can you see?

Nikon D90 + AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED lens.

What is on view at Avebury now owes greatly to Keiller's mission to restore and recreate the henge, although it is much unfinished and indeed probably never could be, because the locals attacked the sarsen stones with fire and chisels until they provided handy building material. John Aubrey recorded Avebury in some detail during the reign of Charles II, who took an interest in Aubrey's work. After that, the destruction became more wanton. Avebury fascinates, yet is only a shadow of what once stood on this site. Nikon D2Xs with Nikkor-P 105mm f/2.5 lens. 100 ISO; 1/100th at f/4.

Trowbridge, Wiltshire, was once an important town for manufacturing woolen cloth. The Handle House, a part of Studley Mill, was used to dry out wet teasel handles, which were used to brush cloth when it was wet. The open bricks on both sides let air pass through. Nikon D90 + Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.

Nikon D90 + AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G lens.

Bonds are the horizontal patterns in which bricks are laid. There are five main types of bond used in old structures and this is an example of English garden wall bond. It is a variation on English bond, laying more stretchers and thus using fewer bricks. This style is cheaper to produce than English bond. However, it is also less strong, hence its use in traditional walled gardens and other modest structures.

Trowbridge Apple Fair, Courtfield House. Canon EOS 20D with 18-55mm kit lens.

I bought this Optomax lens on eBay. It was very cheap and the seller had pointed out its deficiencies, or at least most of them. I used it via an adapter on a Canon EOS 20D with some success, where the field of view was similar to a standard 50mm lens on a full frame camera. Sometimes results lacked a bit of bite and contrast, as here, where the software has supplied what a good lens would have provided in the first place. Eventually I gave it to Oxfam so that someone else could have fun with it, whilst making a modest contribution to helping hungry people.

Photographed with an AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G lens on a Nikon D2Xs. 400 ISO; 1/250th; f/5.6. Processed in Lightroom.

Fujifilm FinePix S3Pro with a Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED lens.

Waiting for a train at Weymouth. Shot from the platform using Nikon D50 and a Tamron AF 55-200mm f/4-5.6 Di II LD lens at 100mm. You seldom see such art in brickwork, and these days: never. Art vs. philistinism.

Avebury Manor. Nikon D50 + Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) lens.

Nikon D50 and AF Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 G lens.

Nikon D2Xs and Tamron Di II SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR LD Aspherical (IF) lens.

Canon EOS 30D and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.

Nikon D2Xs + Nikkor AI 50mm f/1.8 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-16A.

Scenes of a Wiltshire village one Thursday afternoon in September, 2015. Nikon D2Xs and Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 lens.